Juniors explore nature, find community on backpacking trip
The junior class went on the traditional backpacking trip for their class experience!
The junior class at Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School spent four days making memories on their annual backpacking trip in the Appalachian Mountains.
A longstanding tradition at Rabun Gap, this trip allows students to bond together and experience nature.
The trip was organized by Humanities teacher Ms. Kim Buice and involved 82 students who were divided into seven different groups. Each group took a different route. The school used Black Mountain Expeditions, a group based in Montreat, NC, to guide the trip. The students and guides spent the night camping near Black Mountain Expeditions before heading out on the backpacking trip. Some of the areas explored were Pisgah, Black Balsam, and Mount Mitchell.
Each group hiked an average of 15 total miles on the trip and was led by guides from Black Mountain Expeditions and one faculty guide. Faculty who participated in the trip were Mr. Chandler Brooks, Ms. Nicole Ager, Ms. Lynda Ann Loring, Mr. Brian Phillips, Dr. Michael Lomuscio, Mr. Esteban Karplus, and Dr. Gabriel Berges.
For many of the students who participated, backpacking in the mountains was a brand new experience; some had never seen the stars as bright as they were at night in the mountains. The trip was an opportunity to foster determination and create a space to help the upperclassmen bond. While the trip did prove to be a challenge for the students, it also proved itself to be an experience they will never forget.
“The Junior Mountaintop Experience provides our students with an opportunity to step outside their comfort zone. Many of our juniors have never been on a day hike, let alone trek through the woods carrying a pack that has all of their necessary supplies for the next three days. They sleep under tarps, learn to cook on camp stoves and hang up bear bags and interact with peers they have never had a real conversation with,” said trip organizer Ms. Buice. “They go four days without their phones, a feat that my advisees are quick to acknowledge they have never done before. I know that it's an immensely difficult challenge for some of them, navigating such extreme physical activity and hygiene in the woods and a digital detox, but they come back having accomplished things they never thought they would. They have a shared experience (some will claim it's shared trauma) that bonds them as a junior class and I believe gives them a greater understanding of the depth of their capabilities.”
Students have been quick to relate that the trip was a challenge, but a good one.
“This hiking trip was a representation of life, there is up and downs, sometimes you don’t think you are going to make it, but eventually by working together with your team you finally make it to the top,” said Nabi Ndiaye ‘22 of Sengal. “The most valuable lesson in life is to keep hustling until the end and believe that you can push your limit.”
Martin Haugerud ‘22 of Norway really enjoyed the trip.
“Our guide was awesome, our teacher was awesome, I met a lot of new people, and made really great friends along the way,” said Haugerud. “I learned how to tie a couple of knots, and how to put up a tarp in the wild. I would love to do it again!”
“The backpacking trip is such a special tradition in an Upper Schooler’s education here at Rabun Gap,” said Head of School Mr. Jeff Miles. “Not only are the students given an incredible opportunity to immerse themselves fully into the beauty of the mountains that surround us, but they are also given the chance to build character, leadership, and community by challenging themselves beyond what they had previously deemed possible by working together as a team. When they return from this trip, they return empowered and more closely connected with their classmates.”
Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
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Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School is a private, coeducational day and boarding school for grades Pre-K through 12. Centrally located between Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC, and Asheville, NC, we prepare young people for college, career, and a lifetime of leadership and service.
